Multiple states have now passed laws that WILL kill women.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

Not to mention all of the more nuanced sufferings that will result from restrictions and closing women's clinics (and giving us over to BirthRight et al).

This IS a LIFE OR DEATH issue for tens of MILLIONS of women. That is the reality here.

It is bigger than the sufferings imposed by DOMA. More dangerous to life, limb, and liberty than removal of voting rights, than doubling of student loan interest, than chained CPI.

The repercussions WILL be DEADLY. It is a firing squad aimed at women

It is IMMEDIATE and it is real. Not something to be argued in endless abstractions, as in the endless arguments over Snowden, how bad is the NSA, and how much we should hate Obama.

Progressive and Liberal organizations of all stripes should to be rallying to the cause, to protect women's LIVES!


I can't believe that this is showing as more of a corollary issue, as far as DU attention goes. As if it were "A Women's Issue", and therefore less urgent.

We should be pooling resources, coordinating activist groups, insisting that our media get LOUD and reality based about this.

[PDJane]

1. I am so tired of fighting for things we thought we'd won.

Where do these people, women and men, come from? I am so utterly fed up with the reich wing. It seems that nothing matters but a cluster of cells that has the potential for life. The quality of that life doesn't matter. Whether the mother is going to live and be healthy doesn't matter.

Just that cluster of potential. Jesus wept.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

2. And I am so tired of every other issue taking precedence.

We rally and sweat blood to support everyone's progressive cause, but when they come for us......And THEY HAVE>>>It's a done deal in how many states already?<<< ....... then we're basically on our own?

We exclaim and clap our hands when a man says "hey, that ain't right"? Goddammit, what does it take? Do they have to start carting us to the burning pyre before things come into focus?

[PDJane]

3. I'm not sure, but I read something about this.....not entirely optimistic.

It's called  In the Body of the World: A Memoire by Eve Entzler.

The article is http://www.alternet.org/books/eve-enslers-body-world-memoir

[BlancheSplanchnik]

5. oh yes, I read that. She bears witness to the unspeakable suffering

that women in this world are singled out for. And she shows how this avalanche of female-only agony is invisible. Secondary to the concerns of the "rest of" the world.

[CrispyQ]

7. That article needs a warning.

I need a break after that. I've read of this before, but oh, how can a human being do that to another human being? I just canot fathom, I'm in tears & have to go. omg

[PDJane]

9. I am sorry. I had the same reaction. Forgot to post a trigger warning.

I shall try to do so henceforth.

[CrispyQ]

21. People need to know this goes on.

Men need to know that other men are committing these heinous acts.

How do these men look themselves in the mirror? How does one commit atrocities like this & live with one's self? Are they damaged humans? What? What could possibly motivate someone to give in to such savagery? It's beyond my comprehension.

[CrispyQ]

4. I would like to know how many states.

Let's compile a list. In a thread about NC, a poster today, said OH was compromised. I'm not sure what happened with TX. I'm going to go searching.

Every day is a new outrage. State by state they are taking away our basic right to determine our own lives. I started seething last summer, with all the wretched comments coming from (mostly) republican men, legitimate rape, shut that whole thing down, all that filth. The anger simmers inside of me all of the time, but flares up badly on weeks like this.

I have a repub friend, who was so pissed off at the comments coming from the repubs last summer. "They're not taking my birth control away from me or my daughters!" & then three weeks later she 'liked' Romney & Ryan on her FB page. WTF? I haven't done anything with her since then. We chat on the phone now & then, but it changed how I feel about her.

I won't even go into how badly it felt when, several years ago, my mother told me, "I don't care about those (reproductive) issues anymore since I don't have to worry about that anymore." I could not believe that this was the same woman who talked to me about the significance of Roe v Wade when I was a teen.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

6. Jesus, Crispy. Just plain...jeeeeesus

feels like being sucker punched.

[CrispyQ]

23. It was a defining moment in our relationship.

She'd been listening to Rush Limbaugh for a few years by then & had gone through a remarkable transformation in her outlook & views on life & politics, & not in a good way, as you can imagine. She just laughed it off with her standard, "Oh you liberals need to learn to take a joke." Our relationship was pretty strained for a long time. It got a little better before she passed, but I wonder how we would have survived 2008. I'm sure she would have loved Sarah Palin. When I was a kid, she loved JFK.

[yeoman6987]

60. I am so tired of fighting for things we thought we'd won

This IS a LIFE OR DEATH issue for tens of MILLIONS of women. That is the reality here.


First that sentence does us no good. It is too exaggerated. Secondly, I agree that these bills should not even be coming up. I thought having a Democratic President and a Democratic Senate that we would be safe from this bull crap. Life is so strange. We should be getting EVERYTHING we want or at least trying.....I know we have a Republican House, but at least send bills to them EXPANDING woman's rights not take them away.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

8. (NC) Senate votes to restrict abortion as witnesses yell 'shame'

....

The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 29-12 as opponents filled the gallery above and hundreds more waited outside. The bill now goes to the House.

....

“This is an atrocious, shameful bill,” said Sen. Earline Parmon, a Winston-Salem Democrat. “It’s about dictating to women about very personal medical decisions that should be left to a woman and her doctor. This is going to cause more back-alley abortions whether you want to admit it or not.”

....

An estimated 600 people showed up to protest new abortion restrictions, filling the gallery in the Senate chamber, and spilling outside the gallery onto the third floor. Many were wearing pink. At times during the debate they raised their arms and waved their hands in what they called “silent cheering.”

....

Many of the women gathered outside said they were outraged by the surprise Senate vote Tuesday night to add more restrictions on surgical and medical abortions. The provisions, tacked onto an unrelated bill about Islamic law, requires abortion clinics to meet standards similar to those for outpatient surgery clinics. It also requires doctors to be present when women take pills that induce abortions. The bill’s supporters say it’s about safety, but opponents said the real reason is to restrict abortions. A legislative staff member said only one abortion clinic in the state would meet the new licensing standards. A spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood said she knew of none.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/07/03/3007643/opponents-of-nc-abortion-bill.html#storylink=cpy

Islamic Law? The stupidity and fear in this state is astounding. I'm fucking pissed. Backlash over Obamacare(s) drove NC voters to the polls in 2010 and 2012 (along with high unemployment), leaving Republicans in control. NC isn't expanding Medicaid, AND we learn yesterday that implementation of the employer mandate is being delayed. Thanks a lot, Obama!

[EC]

10. Walker in WI

and barely a whimper.



They've pretty much timed this so the law suits will hit and it'll hit the Supremes for election 2014. They think it'll help them. If they get the messaging it could.

[freshwest]

11. Blanche, thanks for this thread. I have been working on one and don't usually post. Women's issues

sink like a stone here unless it's presented like some adrenaline pumping sports production, as if people want to see a riot.

This dehumanization is carried out out of sight of the public, like child porn and rape, and something many don't give a flying fuck about.

The war on women is 'Pfft! Wait, look, who can get a happy for crapping on today?' to many.

I had an interesting talk last night, it went on about five hours until after midnight. My friend is a Christian, but not a fundie at all. She was outraged about it when I showed her what has been going on, posted here at DU.

She'd been getting some kind of propaganda about abortion, as story of a women's testimony being presented at church, who was the survivor of a late term abortion that killed her male sibling. These are the horror stories that they use to fire people up. We discussed that the pregnancy should not have gone on that long and that it as terrifying.

Then I told what I learned of the myths many believe about the morning after pill. As revealed this year and admitted by some politicans, it is not an abortifacent when it is used as intended, since 'conception' has not yet occured.

The idea that conception occurs during the act of intercourse is false. Those little guys can swim fast, but it ain't that way.

She'd also been fed a line about what the sonagram law was. I told her how it was not allowed in VA, as being 'obect rape.' She didn't get it, said she knew what a sonagram was and it was common. I showed her the pictures I've posted here so many times, because I want people who are so bland about this to get the idea. It's not necessary, it's painful and being done to intimidate and humiliate women.

I went into the 'rape kit' nonsense and the fact that this is a war on the poor and middle class women. My friend is really big on the issue of the poor, abuse in the home, all of those things.

She got the point of what is being done right away, after she saw the stories and I brought up my idea. Which is Pro-life folks are worshippers of the flesh in the most direct terms, they demand that their version of biology should determine the entire life of a person.

That their employment solution is to remove half the population out of the workforce to give men the jobs they do. No need for education or childcare. No contraception, as a life of child bearing and rearing give meaning to their position outside the public realm.

Why vote, why drive? Just as Saudi Arabia has been, stay at home, or else. And thus no divorce let the man bring in the money, and if mentally and or physically abused, even to death, fine. I told her it sounds like what RWers say is why they don't want an Islamic state. Just giving it another name doesn't change the mind numbing effect of half the population kept without any rights.

'Her first response was that this is a war on men, too, they want to define their roles, they can't do anything but go to work and war.'

Her second was 'They want us to have nothing above our necks, denying our spiritiual nature and what God gave us to use!'

Anyway, she really had to go home and get ready for work today, so although we discussed more, we had to stop there.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

32. hey fresh...that must have been an amazing conversation. Your point about

"pro-life" fundies being worshippers of the flesh...that's a fascinating statement. Makes me wish I had some knowledge of the fundie experience, just so I could really understand the meaning of that.

The picture you paint is terrifying.

It's terrifying when you think of the control they have over information.

I wonder if, in states where these Gynocide/Slavery laws are being implemented, if an Underground Railroad would eventually develop?


I had a shorter convo several years ago with a woman who was against abortion. She was a Nurse! I couldn't believe it! I didn't have the broad understanding that you have, but I did explain about the fact that women made pregnant by a rapist or their father/brother, uncle, etc. would be forced to have that child.....that was the info that seemed to pierce the through the fog, as she stopped at that and knew it was wrong.

It is evil, how they aim to manipulate women's bodies this way. And your point about the economic "benefits" of half the population living in forced slavery is spot on.

It's all very very scary. I fervently hope that people will mobilize over this.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

12. goddammit, I'm kicking this

Women's lives, here people.

Women's FUCKING LIVES

Life or death, women forced into reproducing against their will, BY THE STATE

Where are DU's most outspoken? Most eloquent? Most activist?

Not DU's Feminists, but DU's EVERYONE?

State sanctioned forced insemination and parturition of human beings...many will lead directly to DEATH.

TARGETED FEMICIDE

And most of DU is silent?

I know you're tired...so are we.

WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU????

[Coyotl]

13. HUGH Kick and Rec

[onestepforward]

14. K&R! n/t

[sigmasix]

15. but, but there are DU members that claim reps and dems are the same

We've had to listen to libertarian DU members claim that there is no difference between the republicans and democrats- that they both hate America. Republican misogynists have ramped-up the war on women to the point that we are now disussing leaving women to die if they have late-term complications that change the viability of the fetus and the health risks to the mother. For republicans, if you suffer a medical issue during pregnancy you probably deserved it, you slut, Now go die in a back-alley attempt to save your life/health/future ability to have babies

[Le Taz Hot]

24. Threads like these need to unite us,

not divide us. Not all Republicans are anti-choice. In California, even the Republicans are pro-choice -- they can't be elected otherwise. The problem is not Democrats vs. Republicans, the problem is religion, the blind adherence to religion and the politicians who use those people to finance their campaigns and knock on doors. There are M-A-N-Y anti-choice Democrats. Why? RELIGION. That is the commonality.

[TBF]

27. I am anti-capitalist but I made it to the polls based upon this issue alone -

Obama was clearly a better choice for women. Not that any of us have much freedom to speak of due to the economic inequality we are dealing with but I knew it could get very bad for all women very quickly if Romney were elected. Turns out they didn't even need him as they are pushing this through via tea partiers attaching these riders to random bills while everyone is thinking about vacation.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

33. repukes are absolutely evil.

and in this case, that's not hyperbole.

[DLevine]

16. K&R. nt

[Ilsa]

17. I am having a hard time understanding

how women fall for the manipulative lies generated by the GOP and anti-choice groups. no critical thinking about history, biology, comparing the US to Saudi Arabia because the Talibornigans are taking over our healthcare. There is a war on poor women going on since women with enough money will always be able to go have an abortion.

I freak out because I know "Christian" women will turn on their healthcare provider after the fact if they do anything to skirt the technical rules about abortions, and that's after those women begged them for help ending pregnancies. They are hypocrites!

If I was a young woman, I'd try to get something like a few doses of RU-486 just in case. I'd come up with an emergency plan and save a few dollars at a time in case I needed to leave my state. I guess I'd plan on having an unplanned crisis pregnancy. Because these right-wing laws are hell-bent taking away my choices and abortion as onerous as possible.
I don't understand why all women and most men aren't fighting for reproductive rights.

[PDJane]

30. The problem is that Republican women, in particular, feel that they are exceptions.

They are never going to get raped, if their daughters have a problem, they will have money enough to have a safe procedure, they will be above the fray.

Then, when they have to live in that world, they wonder what happened?

Yes, I've heard this from other women, and it leaves me open mouthed and furious.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

34. yep. How many idiots do we all know

who genuflected at the altar of Bewsh, and now complain about everything that was set into motion by him?

Some (many?) even realized at some later date, that DimSon had been a big mistake, but still will never admit they were wrong, were conned, and need to open their eyes. Most of all, they will never admit, never even realize, that they helped this happen.

Same with this Gynocidal attitude now, in the U.S. The conscienceless and the uncritical followers of authority and the useful idiots cause these outrages and never look two feet down the road at what the results might end up looking like.

And, as a culture, we're USED to seeing dead, mangled, maimed or just plain victimized women. It does not stir the National Consience, not like bashed gay people or murdered black kids does.

[CrispyQ]

71. Watch the video on this thread.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023178273

It's about 6 minutes long & you will be by the end.

[cali]

18. just saw your thread! Great op.

a million thanks for posting it.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

36. thank YOU!

How do we organize? I have no idea how one starts a groundswell....

[MadrasT]

19. K&R and thank you

I have been watching these bills get passed one by and and I am gobsmacked at how threads about them on DU sink like a stone

I feel like I woke up in the prequel to the Handmaids Tale

[BlancheSplanchnik]

35. Handmaid's Tale....you're not kidding.

and gobsmacked...yeah.


We must unite against this, call in favors from the other liberal demographics who have always had the support of our wholehearted efforts.

I have no idea how one starts a movement, but we need on---a huge unified movement

[cali]

20. kick

[siligut]

22. Death would be preferable to this cruel subjugation by morons

Oppressive control of women is the goal. These control freaks have been blaming women for their failings since recorded history.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

54. word. n/t

[Le Taz Hot]

25. Ms Blanche,

if you think about it, we've ALWAYS been on our own. Personally, I think that's when women are at their best.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

37. yes that's so, but I think the Civil Rights movement and the Gay Rights movement

are the reason we see deep change in society, in social norms! Without huge coordinated efforts and the concentrated support of allies, none of those advances would have happened.

Without many people united with a oneness of purpose, change on the level we need it just doesn't happen.

[Le Taz Hot]

62. Unfortunately, historically, that's not been the case.

Unlike the Civil Rights Movement and Gay Rights Movement, the Women's Movement has never had broad support from other groups. Maybe, beginning in 2013, that can change and those working on GBLT issues and those working on labor issues and Civil Rights issues and any number of other issues can join us in our fight as we join them in theirs. It would be a most welcome change. That being said, we have to be prepared to move forward on our own if that doesn't happen.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

64. I know! That's what I'm calling out for now!

We've always been the numbers for such groups, but the men stand in the public light.

We've helped others acheive rights...now it is time to remind them of debts of appreciation.

[Kolesar]

26. We cannot use a referendum in Ohio, because the RWers put the restrictions into a *budget* bill

GOPs got their butts kicked on the union-busting referendum. Now they put their treachery into budget bills.

The restrictions were "defunding" of publicly funded clinics for poor people.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

38. :(

they cheat very well.

[historylovr]

28. K & R!

[PotatoChip]

29. K&R

[smirkymonkey]

31. K&R, Thank You!

This is unbelievable!

[BlancheSplanchnik]

39. really.

I have no idea how one generates a powerful grassroots movement, but we need one.

[CTyankee]

48. we have Emily's List, Naral pro choice America and Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

I hope Wendy's courage will embolden all women to feel like they, too, can speak up and speak out!

[BlancheSplanchnik]

50. yes, true. Let's get that out there--we need allies and solidarity.

And keep Wendy in the limelight...people need that. Someone who demonstrates courage and inspires people.

[CTyankee]

66. Wendy has a good, positive message. She speaks of "Texas values" and inspires her fellow Texams.

She can't be caricatured as some creature from the Northeast who doesn't know anything about Texas. I think that is important! I wish we could clone her for other states, but I am hoping they will have their own "Wendy's" who will step up!

Wendy hits all the right notes. She didn't bask in her own fame. She credited all the good Dems who took over after she was shut down so shamelessly and carried out the "people's filibuster." I am in total awe of them all!

[BlancheSplanchnik]

68. love it!!!!!

Fantastic! What a cool woman!

[sagat]

40. +1 Rec for REAL issues with REAL consequences.

It's disgusting how many of the "liberals" here are willing to throw women and other people under the bus for the sake of principle.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

41. I look at the front page and I'm stunned...

hard to know what to say, what to do....

I've read some essays about El Salvador, where abortion is illegal. Period. It is both heartbreaking AND terrifying.

But it seems that if something is only terrifying FOR WOMEN, there is not much interest among the general population. It stuns me how so many men cannot practice enough empathy to appreciate what women experience.

I do not know what to do....but I don't want this country to turn into El Salvador.

[Lunacee_2013]

42. K&R. Nt

[DLevine]

43. Kick. nt

[clyrc]

44. Thank you for this important thread

As a woman with two teenage daughters, this is certainly on my radar.

[Trailrider1951]

45. You are so right about this

Here is an example from recent history illustrating that:

http://www.sustainer.org/dhm_archive/index.php?display_article=vn318cohort_of67ed

Pregnancy has AWAYS been a matter of life or death for women. Too few men realize this.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

53. calling it Choice and filing under Right to Privacy" was a big mistake

From the start.

Right to be secure in one's body, Right to Life. And Liberty.

[CTyankee]

46. Thank you, Blanche! We need MORE of these posts in GD where they are most read.

We absolutely need a huge groundswell here at DU, esp. displayed prominently in GD!

My state is very pro-choice and our Senators and Congresspersons are all pro-choice Dems, so we have a lessened sense of imminent danger but that is a false sense of security, IMO. We have to be aware of the NATIONAL implications of what is being done in NC, TX and WI.

I do think Wendy Davis is a game changer and I hope her bravery will serve as an encouragement to other women (and men) to step up and take dramatic, courageous stands for reproductive rights, wherever the threat appears. It is absolutely crucial.

[ananda]

47. OK, these people come in and take over a state..

.. through intensive propaganda and through voter and election fraud
and gerrymandering.

They appeal to people's basal instincts, appealing to their fear and racism.

That this works is the crying shame of this country.

[mnhtnbb]

49. I watched the NC Senate 'debate' HB 695 on Wednesday and was thoroughly

disturbed by it: not only the process--tack all the abortion restrictions late the previous night onto a bill that
started out as anti-Sharia law--but the utter contempt and disregard for women. The pro-choice organizations
in the state hustled out social media postings to generate a crowd of hundreds of people--not just women--to
protest the next morning at the third reading of the bill.

In NC, the gallery is required to remain silent. It was FULL. The presiding officer of the senate warned
people in the gallery numerous times to observe the protocol--and dem senators who spoke also asked
for people's cooperation--but this graphic I think is most telling:



Thanks to gerrymandering in this state by the Repubs after the 2010 election, even though MORE people voted for
Dem rather than Repub House Reps in 2012, districts had been drawn in such a way that Repub reps could be elected over Dems by about 2 to 1.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/11/republicans-gerrymandering-house-representatives-election-chart

The same forces came into play in the elections at the state level. The manipulation, the lies, the contempt, the deceit is truly stunning. The Repubs are gonna' do what they are gonna' do. They don't give a rat's a$$ about what we think. They have taken
control and they are determined to shove whatever they want down our throats.

I am beginning to believe that civil disobedience alone will be insufficient to change the direction of things, and I'm even less
convinced that attempts to change things via the ballot box will succeed.
It makes me very sad, and very afraid, of just what might be coming down the road.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

56. I pictured the gallery shouting, "You Work for Us"

But as you say, they lie. Manipulate. Cheat.

They are Brown Shirts and ANY *woman* who sides with them is a Capo.

There a quite a few Libertarian types where I work...good rational people, but I do NOT know how to open their eyes about what the Republican Party really is.

Some arguments I can engage spontaneously (lime with people who think Planned Parenthood is a eugenics plot to destroy the Black community), but these other aspects you explain so well are not in my mental talking points file.

But yeah, we need more than individual word of mouth, too.

[mnhtnbb]

58. One woman--one lone woman--out of the group got herself arrested for shouting "Shame on you".

http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/07/03/3007643/opponents-of-nc-abortion-bill.html

After many warnings, the gallery started raising hands in approval of the Dem Senators who
took to the floor to speak. The presiding officer warned them about that, too.

It was an unbelievable lesson in 'sit down, shut up, sit still'.

I literally did not go because I knew I wouldn't be able to keep my mouth shut and would end up
arrested.

Hubby and I have discussed getting arrested in support of the Moral Mondays protests. He does
not want to risk drawing attention to ourselves as 'troublemakers'. We have plans to be out of the
country in the next year--visiting our son in Berlin--and neither of us wants to end up on a no fly list.
I do not trust these Republicans.

The Civitas Group--funded by Art Pope who is our state equivalent to a Koch brother (and was appointed Budget Director by
the Repub governor)--published the list
of everyone's names, addresses, employers, personal data who has been arrested on Moral Mondays.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

61. jesus!

Pope is a right Wing christofascist. isn't he? Actually, I thought he was Jewish--his name sounds like it--Anyway, he is replaying the Rise of the Third Reich right here.....

jesus. H. christ.

[mnhtnbb]

63. Actually, publishing the personal data of those arrested is a tactic from

southern civil rights days. It was to let friends, neighbors, employers
know how to apply pressure to anyone supporting change.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

65. well it may have slowed them down but it didn't stop them,

Did it?

Same for us. !!!!!

[drm604]

52. BIG K&R

I'm a man and I'm scared silly by what's happening. This is a coordinated effort to bring one or more cases before the US Supreme Court, in the hopes that they'll get a 5 to 4 conservative win.

What's really needed is a constitutional amendment, but is that even possible in the current environment? I don't know, but it has to be attempted. Is anyone working on an amendment?

[BlancheSplanchnik]

57. I have no idea, but I agree with you. n/t

[historylovr]

55. Kicking Again.

This really is a human rights issue.

[smirkymonkey]

59. Exactly! +10,000.

(sorry, can't type too much - been home w a broken arm for over a month, but very, very upset by all this. Too important to be ignored.)

[kentauros]

67. Kicking, too!

And you get healed! Maybe type up some canned responses you can cut and paste until typing is easy again

[smirkymonkey]

72. Thanks! Working on it.

Just went back to work a bit early. Very painful, but glad to be back because I was going stir crazy! Thanks again!

[Trailrider1951]

69. Kicking for women's lives.

[CrispyQ]

70. The video on this thread was fascinating.

I think it's about 6 minutes. I watched it to the end. You will at the lack of thought.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023178273